"I got a pretty good look," said Lillard, who was 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-10 from 3-point range. "I was able to get free and got squared up, and once I saw it on line, I thought, 'It has a chance.'"

"We didn't execute very well," Houstoncoach Kevin McHale said. "We said, 'No 3's.' (Lillard) just took off running and got separation on the first step, and Chandler just never caught up. (Lillard) made a hell of a shot.

"We had a great opportunity to bring it back to Houston. That was our goal. We didn't get it done."

Guard Wesley Matthews sank one of two shots at the line to make it 93-92, and center Robin Lopez's tip-in gave PORTLAND a 94-93 advantage with 2:10 to play. But Howard scored on a putback and then converted a three-point play to push the Rockets ahead 96-94 with 1:47 to go.

On Houston's next possession, both Howard and Harden missed shots, but the Rockets retained possession when Lillard grabbed the rebound after stepping inbounds. The Rockets worked the clock and Harden's shot bounced off the rim to Parsons, who converted a reverse layup to give the visitors the lead with .9 on the clock.

Then Lillard buried the shot that sent the Moda Center denizens into a frenzy, celebrating the Blazers' first playoff series win since 2000.

"It hurts," Howard said. "When you put everything you got on the floor and somebody hits you with a dagger like that, it's a tough pill to swallow."

PORTLAND, with a fired-up throng of fans rocking the arena, jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the Game's first 90 seconds.

Harden had 11 points in first 5 1/2 minutes to stake Houston to a 15-13 lead. The Rockets increased the advantage to 27-17 late in the first quarter. The Blazers responded with an 8-0 run and closed the gap to 29-28 on a Lillard 3-pointer as the first quarter ended.

NOTES: G Damian Lillard is the first player to make a buzzer-beating shot to win a playoff series since Utah's John Stockton against Houston in 1997. ... Lillard scored seven points in the final minute of the first quarter -- on a 3-point shot and a four-point play. ... F LaMarcus Aldridge, who had averaged 35.3 points and 11.5 rebounds in the first four games, bounced back from an eight-point performance in PORTLAND's Game 5 loss.